Reaction Formation
by 14faraday
Summary: Rachel is gone, off to Hollywood Arts in the hopes of finding real friends who care about her and not just her talent. She may also be running away but no one needs to know that. Quinn is less than pleased with this development and takes it upon herself to bring the diva back, and maybe right some wrongs in the process.
1. Prologue

**AN: This is just an idea that came to me after watching one too many episode of Victorious with my little sister. Not sure I want to turn it into a full story so reviews and feedback are appreciated.  
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**I own nothing despite my best efforts  
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**Reaction Formation: Psychoanalytic defense mechanism by which the ego unconsciously switches unacceptable impulses into their opposites. Thus, people may express feelings that are the opposite of their anxiety arousing unconscious feelings**

The students part like the Red sea before the fuming blonde. Hazel eyes dart back and forth, scowl deepening with every sweep of the hall. If she weren't so pissed she would smile, she doesn't need a Cheerio's uniform to be the HBIC. Her eyes land on her hulking ex and she stalks over to him, slamming his locker shut to gain his attention.

"Hey Quinn."

She matches his dopey smile with a glare, "Where's your girlfriend?"

He blinks slowly and the smile drops from his face, "Rachel and I broke up last month."

She refuses to respond to that information, "Fine, whatever, where is she?"  
He looks annoyed now, "I said we broke up, why would I know where she is?"

"Because as soon as you don't have her you follow her around like a lost puppy," she spits.

"I know it's the first day of school, but that's no reason to act like a bitch."

Right before she can lunge at him a pair of arms wraps around her from behind. Her head whips around to see the confused face of her best friend. The Latina doesn't say anything, just starts pulling her away and into the nearest restroom.

"Ok Q, why the hell are you breathing fire?"

"Finn was pissing me off."

Santana rolls her eyes, "I am far from liking Frankenteen, but you did head straight for him and immediately started laying into him. Hell, you came into school looking to bite somebodies head off. I didn't think that was your thing anymore."

Quinn runs a hand through her short hair and lets out a frustrated growl, "It's just…have you seen Berry today?"

"No. Why in the hell would I be looking for her? What did RuPaul do to you now?"

Quinn takes a minute to answer, and when she does Santana has to strain to catch it, "She moved."

"Can you repeat that?"

"I said I think she moved."

Santana's quiet for only a second, "Is that why you were ready to castrate Finnocence? That oaf dumped her and she moved and now it's gonna be a hell of a lot harder to win Nationals. Figures the dumbass would ruin our chances two years in a row."

"Yeah, I mean it is our senior year and I chose this over Cheerios, we have to win," Quinn avoids Santana's perceptive eyes.

Glee rolls around and Quinn is the first one in. Her eyes stay trained on the door, and as each member walks in her scowl deepens. When Schuester enters and asks where the petite diva is Quinn feels like screaming.

"Apparently Berry moved," Santana drawls out.

"What?"

"Why?"

"When?"

"Where"

Quinn scoffs, "Don't pretend like any of you actually care."

Kurt, the only member to remain silent shoots her a glare, "As a matter of fact I do. You on the other hand…?"

"I never claimed to," she eyes him. "You knew."

He tilts his chin up, "She came to me about a month ago to say she got accepted into a performing arts high school out in California and would be leaving before the start of the school year."

"Well that gives everyone else a chance for once."

Quinn turns her ire onto the remaining diva, "You don't even want to know why she suddenly decided to move? The glee club has been her baby for two years, why is she just now applying to a performing arts school? This is Berry we are talking about, if it improves her chances at reaching Broadway she'll take it so how has she not known about this for years?"

"Isn't it obvious? It's Finnept's fault. He dumped her again," Santana states while eying her best friend curiously.

"Good going Finn," Puck scolds.

"I didn't dump her ok! She dumped me!" the tall boy turns red at his admission.

"What made the dwarf come to her sense?"

"What happened, Finn?" Sam tries more diplomatically.

"It's none of your business, ok?"

"Come on Finn," Artie goads.

"Just admit what you did wrong so we can yell at you properly and move on."

That was apparently the teen's last straw, "I didn't do anything Santana! She dumped me. She wouldn't say why, but I think there was someone else."

Quinn stills and avoids Kurt's eyes, "Whatever, what are we going to do to get her back?"

"We don't need her back," Mercedes insists with a huff.

"While I do believe we have plenty of talent without her, she gives up a pretty big boost," Kurt says and Quinn offers him her first, albeit brief, smile of the day.

Blaine nods along with his boyfriend, "And it seemed like last year she was kind of the driving force here. Between her intense desire to win and being what everyone has to compete against internally it made you a better squad."

Has Quinn mentioned she really likes Blaine? "Right, so what are we going to do to bring her back? I want to win Nationals this year." This time she avoids Santana's searching gaze.

"Somebody goes and brings her back," Puck shrugs.

"Guys, I think we should leave her be. Like Quinn said, this school in California will help her reach Broadway. It isn't our place to drag her back here." Now Quinn wonders how many hits she can get in before Blaine pulls her off his boyfriend.

"Kurt's right everyone," Quinn blinks, forgetting their teacher's presence, "Rachel made the decision to move and we should respect her wishes. Now let's talk about this week's assignment."

#################

Quinn stops her movements when the doorbell rings through the otherwise empty house. She drops the clothes into her suitcase and jogs downstairs and to the door, "Santana, what the hell are you doing here?"

The Latina brushes past, closely followed by a smiling Brittany and Puck, "Your mom spread the word you have been sulking for the past two weeks and are heading to LA to fetch Berry and I am not passing up an opportunity to spend a few days on the beach with Britts."

Quinn rolls her eyes at her friends' typical behavior, "And Puck?"

"Rachel's my girl," he shrugs, looking slightly uncomfortable.

Quinn narrows her eyes but lets it slide, "Fine, but don't expect me to pay for anything for you guys."


	2. Chapter 1

**AN: Thanks to all who read, reviewed, favorite-d and signed up for alerts. I have a general idea of what is going to happen but their is a real possibility this will have a life of it's own, so I hope you enjoy the ride with me. I own nothing despite my best efforts. The song used is "Thank you for the music" by ABBA.**

"Good morning Tori, I hope the rest of your Sunday went well," Rachel smiles at her friend. Friend, one of several she has made during her short time at Hollywood Arts.

"It was," Tori returns the smile with a genuine one of her own, resulting in Rachel's growing even larger.

"I'm glad. Did you have time to look over my ideas for Sikowitz's assignment?"

"I did and I think they're all pretty awesome. I actually came up with a few of my own and thought we all could go over them during lunch."

"That shall be fantastic. I shall meet you in the Black Box. I trust that between the two of us we can spread the word to the rest of our party." With that Rachel walks away, head held high. It's a wonderful feeling to be able to walk down the halls without fear of a slushy attack. In addition to the confidence boost she has gained from this it has also allowed her to wear clothes she actually likes, clothes that earn her appreciative looks and more than one flirtatious encounter. Hollywood Arts is where she should have been for the past three years. So far the worst she has had to endure has been one Jade West, and she only bit if you came too close. On the first day Rachel made that mistake, letting her excitement get the better of her and being maybe a little too friends with the Goth's boyfriend, Beck. Jade cornered the diva and thoroughly threatened her. Tori and her best friend Andre came up after and were amazed by how she didn't flinch once. She flashed one of her practiced Rachel Berry smiles and said that after dealing with the Unholy Trinity for three years she could deal with anyone. They stared at her blankly and she chose not to elaborate on what all had transpired at McKinley.

Two weeks later and she has become a member of their group. Unlike the Glee club members, most of her peers here are motivated, have dreams of stardom and will put in the work to achieve it. Granted she has had to trade in some of her specialness to be amongst true peers, but it has been well worth it. They understand her drive so don't mock her or put her down for it, and their talent only serves to make her push harder. In other words, she loves it here.

The day goes by and as soon as lunch hits she heads to the Black Box. The rest of the group, coincidentally all her new friends, are yet to show and Rachel finds herself on stage picturing a full house on Broadway. She closes her eyes and lets the first song that comes to mind flow through her:

_I'm nothing special, in fact I'm a bit of a bore  
If I tell a joke, you've probably heard it before  
But I have a talent, a wonderful thing  
'cause everyone listens when I start to sing  
I'm so grateful and proud  
All I want is to sing it out loud_

_So I say_  
_Thank you for the music, the songs I'm singing_  
_Thanks for all the joy they're bringing_  
_Who can live without it, I ask in all honesty_  
_What would life be?_  
_Without a song or a dance what are we?_  
_So I say thank you for the music_  
_For giving it to me_

_Mother says I was a dancer before I could walk  
She says I began to sing long before I could talk  
And I've often wondered, how did it all start?  
Who found out that nothing can capture a heart  
Like a melody can?  
Well, whoever it was, I'm a fan_

_So I say_  
_Thank you for the music, the songs I'm singing_  
_Thanks for all the joy they're bringing_  
_Who can live without it, I ask in all honesty_  
_What would life be?_  
_Without a song or a dance what are we?_  
_So I say thank you for the music_  
_For giving it to me_

_I've been so lucky, I am the girl with golden hair_  
_I wanna sing it out to everybody_  
_What a joy, what a life, what a chance!_

_So I say_  
_Thank you for the music, the songs I'm singing_  
_Thanks for all the joy they're bringing_  
_Who can live without it, I ask in all honesty_  
_What would life be?_  
_Without a song or a dance what are we?_  
_So I say thank you for the music_  
_For giving it to me_

She hits the last note and holds it, reveling in the magic that always touches her when she loses herself in a song. Her eyes flutter open and Tori, Andre, Beck, Jade, Cat and Robbie are all applauding. She can't fight the slight blush, nor the satisfied smirk.

"Damn, girl, I didn't know you could sing like that," Andre praises.

Jade sits down looking bored, "Vega, _that_ is what talent sounds like."

The Latina spares a quick glare at her frenemy before turning to the newest member of the group, "That was really amazing."

"Thank you. And as much as I love hearing praise, we should start working on our scene." Everyone nods in agreement and gathers on stage. Rachel immediately launches into the ideas she had Tori look over the night before and savors really being listened too.

They are halfway through the scene when the main doors open. Rachel turns, fully prepared to scold whoever it is that it is rude to interrupt rehearsals, but it dies in her throat. Hazel eyes are fixed on hers and suddenly breathing isn't such an easy thing.

"My Jewish Princess!" her eyes flit over to Puck's smiling form and she manages to return in briefly before shaking her head not fully believing what is before her.

"What…?"

"I believe this is the first time I've ever seen you speechless, Berry."

Her eyes snap back to Quinn and the slight smirk the former Cheerio is wearing pisses her off, "What are you doing here, Quinn?"

She can feel the eyes of her friends on her and she assumes her icy tone caught them just as by surprise as the intrusion. Quinn, however, seems completely unfazed, "We came to bring you back to Lima."

Rachel blinks, opens her mouth, blinks again then close her mouth. She is really tired of Quinn catching her off-guard. Tori steps forward and once again Rachel is thankful for having friends, "Hold up, who are you guys?"

Quinn's eyes never leave Rachel's, "Friends from Ohio. We need you Rach."

That unfroze her, "You need me? Really? Now you are saying you need me? And when did I give you permission to call me Rach? We aren't friends, Quinn, you made that perfectly clear this summer."

"Look, Berry, the whole Glee club talked about it and we want you to come back," Puck tells her with a pleading smile.

She scoffs, "Really? I highly doubt that considering that not a single member, save Kurt, have tried to get in any sort of contact with me since I moved over a month ago. What everyone misses is my voice, and that's only for competition, every other day it's something they have to put up with. And you know what? I'm sick of it. I am done being the most picked on person in school."

"Since when does Rachel Berry run away?" Quinn challenges. Rachel watches, eyes narrowed, as the blonde saunters towards the stage, "Since when are you a coward, Berry? You're stronger than that."

Rachel waits until her tormentor is right in front of her. She is perfectly aware the HBIC is baiting her, and boy is she going to take the bait. Her voice stays low and even, "Is that what you have been telling yourself for the past three years? Is that your justification for treating me like absolute shit? Its ok, Berry is stronger than slushies and degrading nicknames. She can handle being told her father's should send her back and that it's no wonder her mother didn't want her. Everyone is under the misguided impression that you started singling me out sophomore year after Finn and I started taking an interest in each other, that your behavior was at least partially justifiable. But I know the truth, don't I Quinn?" she watches with grim satisfaction as the color drains from the blonde's face. "It started before that, as soon as you were named Captain of the Cheerios Freshman year, the second you had the power you made sure my life was hell."

Quinn's jaw tenses and Rachel steals herself for the counter-attack, that is how this always works after all, "Can we move this somewhere more private?"

"I have nothing more to say to you, and I am quite confident that there is nothing I want to hear from you." Rachel doesn't wait for a response, choosing to execute a perfect storm out. She makes it into the hallway and has to pause to remember where the nearest restroom is. She has just barely entered before she loses the battle with her tears. This was not supposed to happen, Lima was not supposed to follow her, and Quinn sure as hell wasn't supposed to.

She slides down the wall, not having the energy to even move into a stall. Her head moves to the door when it opens to reveal Tori who slides down next to her, "Well that seemed intense, awkward and painful."

Rachel lets out a weak laugh, "That sums it up nicely. Actually it fairly accurately describes most of my encounters with Quinn."

"Look, you don't have to tell me, I am fully prepared to just sit in here with you, but what was all of that?"  
The diva looks at Tori and the tears start coming harder causing the Latina's eyes to widen in panic. Rachel takes a couple of deep breaths so she can speak, "I'm sorry, it's just that I am not used to people being genuinely concerned for me. Back in Lima, well I left with but one person I can call a real friend and that took a year and a half to develop. Even my ex didn't want to be my friend. For a while I deluded myself into believing Quinn and I could be…boy was I stupid. I attended a school where being different was the worst sin one could commit, and I was the most different."

"Oh honey," Tori wraps a slender arm around the petite girl.

"When Glee club first started I thought it was my chance to show everyone I wasn't some freak, because being part of something special makes you special. I thought it could be a safe haven for the outcasts, and it was to an extent, but I still managed to be the outcast of the outcasts. I admit I have done questionable things and have a tendency towards selfish behavior, but that became so associated with me that all of my unselfish acts went unnoticed of accused of having ulterior motives. Eventually I found myself acting how people expected me to act instead of just being me, and I hated myself for it."

"Maybe they regret that, why else would those two be here?"

Rachel feels Tori tense at the bitter laugh that escapes her lips, "Quinn was my biggest tormentor for much of it, she was the one to declare open season on Rachel Berry. I took slushies and names from the vast majority of that school, but she did things that were so much worse. And she has the audacity to tell me she needs me, to try and bring me back?"

It's a minute before Tori says anything and Rachel doesn't fault her, she kind of unloaded on the poor girl. "Wow, I…guess all I have to say is that I'm your friend. And as your friend I am glad you left that miserable place and came here. I'm not your only friend either, there's Andre and Beck, Cat and Robbie, I even think Jade kind of likes you and it took me two years to get her to tolerate me."

A genuine smile spreads across Rachel's tear stained face, "Thank you Tori. I am going to hug you now."

When they separate Tori has a sly look on her face, "So who was the cutie with the blonde gank?"

"That would be Noah Puckerman"

"He called you his Jewish Princess."

"He…we weren't friends, we made out a few times and he was one of the first to stop picking on me after joining Glee. I'm not really sure why he is here, or Quinn for that matter. If anyone came to try and convince me to go back I always assumed it would be my ex, Finn. I mean, I dumped him after all so it stands to reason he could still be in love with me."

"Why'd you dump him?"

Rachel tenses back up. She may be bearing her soul right now, but that is not a conversation she wants to get into. She settles on the partial truth, "I realized it was wrong of me to continue our relationship with I was not in love with him."

Tori nods her head, "I think that's fair. Did he take it well?"

"No, he kicked over a couple of chairs after begging didn't work."

"He kicked over chairs?"

"It's kind of a thing he does when upset."

"I can see why you dumped him."

Rachel laughs as the door opens and Jade walks in, "And I thought I was a bitch."

"What did Quinn do after I left?"

"Well, the mohawked kid tried to wrap his arm around her but she shook it off, gave all of us a pretty freaking scary glare and stormed out herself. Then he tried to hit on me until I gave him one of my own glares."

"Noah's harmless, he acts like he is God's gift to women, but he really is a good guy."

"Whatever, they're gone so you can come out now."

Before Jade can escape Rachel grabs her arm lightly, "Thank you, Jade."

"Yes, that is pretty considerate and nice of you Jade," Tori teases.

The Goth rolls her eyes, "Shut it Vega. Berry, let's go!" So Rachel leaves the bathroom feeling better and sees the rest of her new friends waiting in the hall. They don't say anything, just fall in line as they make their way to class.


	3. Chapter 2

**I repeat that I am not positive I know where this story is going, but I think I like it and hopefully you do too. I can't get it out of my head so updates might continue being pretty quick. I own nothing despite my best efforts. Please let me know what you think and if you have any ideas or suggestions feel free to make them.**

Quinn tells herself to thank Puck later for not commenting in the hour they spent trying to get back to the hotel. When he found her in the parking lot it was clear by his eyes that he was ready to question her, she is guessing it was the tears that kept his mouth shut. Until now. Now they are in the hotel room, Santana and Brittany still presumably at the beach, and he is staring at her from across the room expectantly. But she is still Quinn Fabray and she refuses to start this conversation.

She wins the battle of wills, of course, "So that did not go according to plan whatsoever. And we did have a plan right? We were supposed to find Rachel and tell her how wonderful she is and how much we miss her and that while we understand this school is good for her Lima is her home. And I tried to take that route; you kind of dropped the ball. Did you really think that you could just order her around? I know you have the whole head bitch thing down, but it isn't some ultimate power that will give you whatever you want."

"I didn't…I didn't mean for it to go that way. I fell into old habits, like I always do around her."

"We shouldn't be here."

"What?" she moves to stand right in front of him, starring him down.

This time he holds his ground, "What she said, well that made me feel pretty shitty. And I know it made you feel terrible too because you don't cry for no reason."

Quinn looks away, "I am perfectly aware of all the things I have put her through since freshman year."

"So why is it you, Quinn?" she looks back into his curious brown eyes, "Why are you the one fighting to bring her back?"

"That's really none of your business Puck." She doesn't give him a chance to respond, "Why are you here? Why were you the guy to jump on board and not Finn?"

"That's really none of your business," he throws back at her like a two year old.

"Real mature. What is it, are you hung up on her?"

"No!"

She pokes him in the chest; it feels so much better to be the aggressor in a fight, "Really? I mean you have tried to hook up with her in the past. Now that Finn's out of the way you have your chance."

He looks away briefly and when their eyes lock again all she can see is regret, "That's not it. You aren't the only one to feel bad for what they've done to Rachel. I haven't done enough to make up for that, especially when she has been just about the only person to care what happens to me. Did you know she was the only one to visit me in Juvie? And she tutored me to make sure I got caught up in my classes, then kept tutoring me so I didn't flunk out. I owe it to her to find out what happened to make her do this. I want her to come back, but I came to try and be her friend for a change."

Quinn feels the fire going out in her, "You're a better person than I am."

"So why are **you** here?"

She opens her mouth, this is her chance to come clean to someone. But coming clean to Puck means coming clean to herself and that's not something she is ready to do. So instead what tiredly comes out is, "I told you, it's none of your business."

This time he lets it drop, but his eyes promise this won't be the last time he asks, "Pool?"

"Yeah."

###################

It's well after dinner before they return to their room. She opens the door to see Santana and Brittany cuddled on a bed watching TV. "I cannot tell you how happy I am that you guys are not naked right now."

"I'd be ok if they were," Puck leers, earning him a pillow to the face.

"So what happened with Berry?"

Quinn sighs and falls onto the bed next to her best friends, "'Bout as bad as it could possibly go."

Santana eyes her, "You slipped back into HBIC mode didn't you? I knew you couldn't pull off that sweet and sugary crap you were practicing on the plane."

"Yeah, Quinn kind of dropped the ball as soon as we found Rachel. Then Rachel ripped Quinn a new one."

"A new what?"

Santana kisses Brittany lovingly on the cheek before turning back to the other blonde, "That's not normal Berry behavior. I'm kind of impressed the midget was able to stand up to you when you were channeling your Head Bitch. I repeat what I said on the flight, sing her a song, you know she eats that crap up."

"I don't think a song is going to cut it, S."

"So what, that's it? You fly out here and quit after the first obstacle?" Quinn remains silent so Santana goes on, "Good thing I changed our flight plans, you have five more days."

"You did what?" Quinn narrows her eyes but Santana doesn't flinch, this is one of several instances Quinn wishes the Latina was more easily intimidated.

"I am quite disturbed by the fact I seem to know Berry better than you do and figured it would take a little time to wear her down, she is stubborn as hell after all."

"You don't know her better than I do," Quinn finds herself snapping. "I just didn't really think past getting here."

"Clearly."

##################

The next morning Quinn is staring up at the ceiling, not having gotten more than an hour's sleep. Puck's snoring loudly from the floor but it only seems to be disturbing her, Santana and Brittany are so wrapped around each other she questions their ability to breathe. It is now six a.m. a reasonable enough time she decides and slips out of bed. She manages to dress and slip outside without waking anyone, but once outside she has no idea what to do. It's early and she is running on little to no sleep, coffee, that's what she needs.

The woman at the front desk directs her down the street to a little café and just the smell of the coffee is enough to make her morning seem a little brighter. She has a problem she knows. She orders a mocha and grabs a window seat, people watching has always been an enjoyable way to kill time. At first she is able to focus on the people passing, trying to figure out who they are just by what they wear and how they walk. But after about fifteen minutes a petite brunette walks by and she nearly slams her head down in frustration.

She is well aware that this whole mess is her fault. Rachel wouldn't have left if the summer had gone differently. Things could have happened a hundred different ways and not result in the diva moving halfway across the continent. Her level of self-loathing is starting to get dangerously high. She tries to pinpoint the moment she started them down this path. _That_ weekend certainly played its part, but that wasn't the moment. **The **moment was a week after school ended for the year, when she passed by the skanks in the parking lot and asked to bum a cigarette.

**Three months earlier:**

Quinn rolls her eyes as her mother continues to prattle on about her club of the week. Her mother did not know how to be single, so she volunteered and joined anything and everything that sounded remotely interesting. Most of them she didn't stay in too long, rather jumping onto a new project, always thinking the grass would be greener or some shit like that. Quinn really couldn't care less after a year of the same behavior. Yeah she was allowed to live at home again, but she was no closer to her mother than she had been before baby-gate. They talked, every night at dinner they talked, but never about anything of substance. Her mother would recount all that happened with whatever club that day and Quinn would talk about school, Glee, Cheerios and then they would go their separate ways.

Now that school is over Quinn doesn't even have that to share with her mom, so she started skipping dinner. Tonight, for some reason, her mother decided to call her to make up for the lack of table talk. Mostly Quinn continues to wander the mall aimlessly, just paying her mother enough attention to say things like 'oh yeah' 'nice' 'really', the bare necessities. This summer is going to royally suck.

She waits to leave until mall close, not like she really has anything else going on. She waits so long she gets stuck in the Barnes and Noble and can't get back into the mall itself. With a huff she exits the building and starts walking around the large building, her car is of course on the exact opposite end. As she passes one of the small alleys for deliveries and such she spots a group of four or five girls laughing and smoking. They notice her lurking and stop to glare at her. A tall girl with long flaming red hair steps forward a bit and throws out the clichéd line, "Take a picture, it lasts longer."

A smirk finds its way onto the blonde's lips and she saunters over. They don't cower like she thought they would, but then again she isn't in school, and even if she was it isn't like she has that kind of power anymore. When she is just a foot away from Red she hands out a hand, "Can you spare a smoke?"

"You smoke?" a blonde in the back of the group asks skeptically.

"I'm Quinn Fabray, I do whatever the hell I please." That seems to win Red over because the taller girl digs into her pocket and comes out with a single cigarette which she passes over. Quinn places it between her lips then raises an eyebrow at the girl expectantly, Red fishes out a Bic and lights it for Quinn. She takes a long drag, she has seen people do it often enough but she wasn't fully prepared for actually doing it. She coughs, a lot, earning snickers from the skanks. She ignores them and continues to work on the task at hand. After a few more puffs she thinks she has figured it out, and she has to admit she kind of likes the effect it is having on her. She feels calmer, but not out of it like can happen when she drinks.

"I never thought I would see The Quinn Fabray hanging out with us," the blonde from the back remarks.

"Well I'm not The Quinn Fabray anymore am I?"

#####

"Earth to Quinn!" she jumps and looks up to see Santana standing before her, hands on her hips, "Nice of you to let us know where you were going. Next time remember your phone at least. Ay dios mio."

Quinn takes a sip from her lukewarm mocha, "Sorry about that, I just needed to think."

Santana sighs and sits down across from the blonde, "Are you ever going to tell me what the fuck we are doing here?"

"I thought you were here so you and Britt could hit the beach and have a little vacation?" Quinn counters.

"I saw an opportunity and I capitalized, it's what I do. You…I have tried my hardest to ignore the weird relationship between you and Berry, mostly because I know it will only give me a headache to try and understand it. But now I have to ask and I am this close to kicking your ass for it so your answer better be pretty damn good."

Quinn stares and remembers why her and Santana became best friends in the first place. Granted a good amount of their friendship started with that whole 'keep your enemies closer' mentality, recognizing each other as top of the food chain material, but the actual friendship started when they realized they couldn't bullshit each other. Both girls value privacy and space, and give it to each other willingly, so when they call each other out it is usually for good reason. "I screwed up this summer, I'm the reason Rachel ran off and I am just trying to make it right."

"That's all I am going to get right now, isn't it?"

"That's all I can give right now."

"Fine. But you had better get your shit together. I would really like to enjoy LA, and you being all moody is making that hard."

"I'll do my best," Quinn says with an eye roll.

Santana grabs the drink out of Quinn's hand and takes a sip, "So have you figured out how exactly you are going to make things right?"

"No fucking clue."

"How big did you fuck up?"

"Royally. It's probably going to take some sort of miracle."

Santana rubs her eyes, "Why is your life so unbelievably complicated? You can't just have one issue; you have to have constant drama."

"I long ago came to terms with knowing God hates me."

Santana chuckles a little, "Ok, I know usually you are the mastermind but I am thinking you are close to think straight right now. Here is what we are going to do, Brittany and Puck are going to go back and try to talk to Rachel."

"What? Why?"

Now it's Santana's turn to roll her eyes, "Because she clearly does not want to talk to you and I am sure I come in at a close second on her shit list. No one can say no to Britt, and Puck and her haven't been on bad terms for a while. So they go talk to her today and try to convince her to just hang out with us tonight. And while they are doing that you and I are hitting up the spa, you need to relax."

"I have no choice in the matter do I?"

"Nope, I already sent them off."

"If this works out I owe you, and if it doesn't I will possibly try and kill you and make it look like an accident."

"Noted."

They sit in silence for a minute as Quinn finishes her drink. Her fingers tap the table, she could really use a cigarette right now. Santana places her hands over top and looks deep into Quinn's eyes, "You know I would understand, right?"

"I know."

"Right," Santana looks a little sad but Quinn can't bring herself to open up. "We should head back, our spa appointment is in forty-five minutes."

"You are paying for this right? I mean I know my mom gave me a good chunk of change for this, but still…"

"Relax, Q, I got it covered. My Dad was feeling particularly guilty when I asked to go on this little trip and handed over one of his cards."

"Then let's go."


End file.
